Strongest Under The Heavens -Pistol Barrel Mix-
The Aftermath of the First Half "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" The announcer's voice sounded. "WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A TEN MINUTE INTERMISSION BEFORE THE THE FINAL TWO MATCHES! PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ANY BUSINESS NOW!" Mina carried Marin like a bride back into the competitor waiting room, and motioned for Kisara to follow as well. "You're surprisingly light, Marin." Mina said smiling. "I could carry you all day and not feel tired." Of course, this was more Mina's delight with the situation talking than anything else, the way Marin was being carried, how she was posed, were all very exciting to Mina. Marin replied in a surprisingly sarcasm-dripping tone of voice, "Cuz I don't eat like a pig." But she was actually enjoying being treated like she was royalty; she believed that out of all people, she was fitted to be princess of a sort. Kisara could only watch on as the two chatted away; ashamed to join the two. "Uh..." she began to turn away; about to walk away and do her own thing. Sanger quickly appeared next to her. "Uh-uh, there isn't anything in the direction you're headed." He flicked his fingers, surrounding her in a mass of light and transported her into the competitor's building, before vanishing and appearing within the building's confines. "Besides, your friends are in here." Kisara pouted at this. "Uh...yeah." She could have smacked her face on the wall. "You're right. Eh...may as well go try and help them out..." Lately, she had been unsure of herself; her ambition was crippling, taking over most of her other senses, and that nasty red image she saw in her dreams...it wasn't good to get into that one. Sanger placed a hand on her head gently, and this touch removed all sense of doubt and conflict from her mind. "Be calm, Kisara. Think of nothing. Your pain will soon overcome you when it is our turn to step into the ring together." He left her mind hazy and blank, in a state of blissful content, as he glided over to Marin, who Mina was setting up on a hospital bed. "How are the injuries?" Marin sighed, "Oww, my duodenum..." That was just nonsense; how could she be struck there? "...Honestly, it's getting better. Just a little, however." Sanger's hands began to glow, and he placed them over Marin's body. "While I'm sure that assessment is incorrect, I'll begin the healing process now." She was enveloped in a orange sphere of light that began to heal at her wounds. "This shouldn't take long, while the intermission is underway," Marin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god..." she seemed hesitant around this man for a reason, however; though she called to Kisara, "Come over here. I don't know what just happened, but I want to let you know, whatever it is, we can work it out together." Kisara smiled- for once- and nodded. "Of course! I'd hate to let you down...but I think I'll have to deal with this by myself." "And that, Kisara, is why you fail." Sanger replied, moving his hands in the air along Marin's body, allowing the healing to continue. "You are far too independent, when you have friends who obviously care for you. That will be your undoing, and you will have no one to blame when you meet your maker but yourself." Kisara scratched her head. "Tch, you've got a point..." of course, this was because she didn't want neither Marin nor Mina to be harmed in her pursuit of power. "Even though I'm alone, the memories of my friends will help me along." Marin smiled and nodded at Kisara's declaration. "We'll be there with you, every step of the way." Once more, she could feel her body. She deftly moved her left arm- it flexed properly "It works! Thanks, mysterious guy!" "Don't mention it." Sanger replied, standing up and smiling. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bit of business to attend to, but I'll certainly be back in time for the next match." Mina sighed, and laid her head down on Marin's stomach. "So creepy he is...but he's a good dude when it comes down to it. And he's right." She looked up at Kisara, resting her chin on Marin's stomach. 'We're all gonna help you out. Even if you try to run away in the night, we'll just follow you right on anyway." Kisara accepted this. "Right." Marin clapped her hands. "Good!" ---- Meanwhile, a certain woman was punching a steel barrel. The barrel began to leak blood. She delivered a powerful punch and barrel flew into several more barrels. The charred body of a woman was ejected from the barrel. A mysterious, yet hauntingly familiar voice asked, "Ayako, did she talk?" "No. She died before I could get it out of her." The one known as Ayako sneered. "Sooo, she wasn't the spy, then?" Ayako removed the sole of the woman's shoe and pulled out a small electronic device. "Look at this. It's a transmitter; planted to keep someone informed of her location." She destroyed the transmitter with her hand. "But... does this mean she was the spy?" Ayako stroked her pet cat. "Perhaps she was being used by someone else." The other woman yelled at Ayako, "Perhaps? This woman was our comrade!" Ayako merely cackled, "Comrade or not, she is of no use to us now." "I don't approve of your methods!" "I don't need your approval. I'm in command here." Ayako backhanded the other woman. "...and that nuclear shell." The other one said in a low tone. Ayako laughed at this. "Still feeling sore about that, are you? What are you going to do, report it to the authorities? This is a mission, fought with information and espionage. We must root out spies wherever they hide. It is kill or be killed. Potential threats must be weeded out. Your feelings are a menace to the unity of our organization. Someone is guiding the enemy's hand. A single man can only accomplish so much. Make no mistake, there is a spy among us." "But casting suspicion on our own comrades..." "The C3 explosives have been stolen." Ayako was blunt here. "I'd be careful about suspecting everyone here." "...Yeah." "...Now, you know the ends of your mission. Go out, and take those three out, while I destroy them unawares, Melissa." The Next Round Matches Mina stood up and stretched. "It's almost time for the next matches. Where did Melissa slip off to? I'm kinda worried." Marin quietly informed Mina with a tone of indifference, "Don't worry about it. She's probably gone for a toilet break-" Surprise, surprise; Melissa showed up the moment Marin replied. "Oh, sorry~ I was...I had to go have a toilet break." Marin's eyes sharpened as she flatly stated, "Sure, sure." "You two, play nice." Mina ordered. "Melissa, it's almost time for our match. Are you ready?" Melissa clasped her hands and smiled. "Yeppers~ Let's play nice..." It was odd that she was so...honest. Sanger walked back in, smiling...very darkly. He looked down at Melissa and Mina. "I hope to see a good match between you two. It's just...about...time..." As he finished his sentence, the announcer's voice could be heard. "EVERYONE, IT'S TIME TO RESUME THE MATCHES! UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO UNFORSEEN COMPLICATIONS, ALFRED GRANGER IS UNABLE TO COMPETE!" Mina looked up at Sanger, eyes narrowing. "Suspicious....just around the time he had...business..." She decided that it was best not to dwell on it. Even during all this, he kept his smile, looking square down at the girl. Perhaps these two understood each other? "MINTAKA LESTRANGE! ...odd name, sounds so evil. MELISSA BROWNING! PLEASE COME TO THE RING!" "I guess that's us, Melissa." Mina stood up, removing her face from it's comfortable perch on her lover's stomach. Melissa nodded. "Yep~" She stepped up to the arena, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed (so to speak), but behind those eyes, laid a woman with ambition. Naturally, she wasn't carrying her pistols with her, but in fact something deadlier. "Wish me luck, Marin!" Mina dashed off into the ring, looking ready to go. She cricked her neck. "Are you ready to have a bit of fun, Melissa?" Melissa kept that persistent smile up. "Let's make a show of this, shall we~?" She was waiting for the announcer to let the battle begin. "Sure, let's have a bit of fun." Mina grinned. "ALRIGHT BEGIN!" The announcer called out. Mina immediately dashed forward, making use of Hirenkyaku to increase her speed and catch Melissa by surprised, and took to her left side, crouched on the floor and swinging her fist upward to Melissa's face. Melissa smiled and released a burst of unknown energy, repulsing Mintaka away, sending her a few feet away. Raising her hand once more, Melissa emitted a pulse of energy, increasing the gravitational pull on Mina, drawing her towards Melissa. The moment that she was in range, Melissa channel;ed vast amounts of magnetic energy through her body for the purpose of granting herself vast superhuman strength, throwing a punch that cracked the air itself towards her foe. "What is this!!? Magnetism!? How do Magnets work again!?" ''Mina hissed to herself, as she fortified her own body's defensive power with her Blut, easily withstanding the punch that came towards her gut, and she grabbed Melissa's arm. "You can't get away if you insist on drawing me in like this!" She shifted her Blut into Blut Arterie, focusing it offensive abilities now as she threw Melissa with all her might. Melissa caught herself by focusing electrical currents underneath her feet- safely floating back to the ground, she smiled at Mina. "You're pretty good." Melissa focused an enormous amount of magnetic energy so that a golden aura focused around her body continued flashing. Then, she brought her cupped hands to her left side and charged a golden-yellow blast of magnetic energy. "Spark Bolt!" Finally, she brought her hands forward and fired the attack with the flashing light emanating from her body at Mina; a beam of pure magnetic energy. "''Since when does this count as martial arts!?" Mina thought, focusing on utilizing her Hirenkyaku for a swift enough dodge that she moved out of the way of the beam, which shot past her and into the crowd. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Naturally, the crowd scattered as the blast tore through the stadium. Mina seemed perturbed. Melissa had no issue firing a blast like that straight on, when in a stadium like this, such things are safety hazards. "Melissa, you need control!" Melissa ignored this, and once more, raised her hand to Mina; repelling her back this time, attempting to hold her in place, kicking forward, releasing a pulse of magnetic energy that crawled along the ground, uprooting the earth and causing it to launch towards Mina in the form of enormous boulders- similar to meteors. However, Melissa had misculated her own force, overexerting herself and pushing Mina back far too much. Mina neared the edge of the ring and fell out as the boulders flew straight over her. "I-IS THIS IS!?" The announcer cried. "DESPITE THE SHOW OF FORCE AND STRANGE POWER, IS THIS GOING TO END BY RING OUT!?" However, that was not to be, as Mina was clinging to the edge of the ring with her hands, and forced herself back onto the marble surface. "NO! MINA IS BACK IN THE RING, AND THE FIGHT CAN CONTINUE!" "Your powers are actually starting to get a bit frustrating." Mina frowned, and took a stance. "It must be nice to have abilities you can use even in a tournament like this." Melissa smiled and responded quietly, "Yeppers~" She thrust her arm into the air, gathering forces before swinging it out to her side, releasing a twirling trail of destruction that carved up the surroundings, blasting towards Mina at full force. "Tch! She has no regard for anyone here! I need to stop her now...I suppose there's always '''that'." She poised herself, Mizuzu's voice ringing her in head. "''This is a last resort, girl. For when you are deprived of your bow, tubes, and even your hand-to-hand is failing you. However, this is far more taxing on your spirit energy than your Heilig Pfeil. It's only good for two shots. Don't waste them." Mina eyed the twisters heading her way. Spiraling like they were, they were close nit, however, they did have gaps between each of them, no matter how close Melissa tried to keep them. Now...if she could exploit that....she dashed forward, using Hirenkyaku to increase her speed, and quite literally leapt through the center of the twisters, being cut and slashed at them, blood dancing as she moved, before appearing above Melissa. "Let me show you a real energy attack!" She cried, pointing her index finger towards Melissa like a child plays "finger gun", and waited until they were only less than a foot away, an easy feet given her speed. "SPIRIT GUN!" She cried, releasing a moderately sized energy blast from above, and given the short distance, it covered the gap quickly. "Egh!" The force of Mina's Spirit Gun blew Melissa away, sending her catapaulting across the arena, tumbling upon the tarmac. She hissed in a low tone; blood spewed from her mouth, as the impact of the spiritual projectile managed to shred her clothes, leaving her in tatters. All that concealed her body was a few straps here and there- slowly, but surely, she stood to her feet once more, coughing up red liquid that dropped to the floor of the arena. Winking, Melissa pointed her index finger towards Mina, in an eerily familiar pose. "No, let me show you a real energy attack." Energy gathered; forming parallel currents on the right side of her finger, accelerating the Lorentz force produced by the currents she created. "Railgun!" Melissa unleashed an enormous, purple energy blast up at Mina. "If I dodge that...everyone behind me is dead..." ''Mina thought and braced herself. "''I have to take it!" She focused, enhancing her defenses with Blut Vene. The blast collided and enveloped her, sending shockwaves of pain trough her body as blood spurted out. However, her defences held up and the attack dissipated, leaving her worn, but alive. Her clothing was also damaged to the point that it was ripped and falling at the seems, but not enough that she couldn't retain dignity. "You're...good...but too callous." She frowned. Marin had been right to be suspicious of Melissa. "I think we both only have one good big one left in us. Why don't we end this with one shot?" Melissa clasped her hands, cheerfully complying. "Why not~?" Pointing her finger at Mina once more, Melissa began to prepare the railgun, before...Suddenly, Melissa's eyes went blank as she collapsed backwards, crumbling to the arena floor; it seemed that the last shot had tired her out significantly- more than enough to drain her energy reserves completely. "A-AND MELISSA IS DOWN! AFTER A GROUNDING, HEART STOPPING MATCH I NEVER THOUGHT WE'D SEE, MINA IS THE FINAL VICTOR OF THE FIRST ROUND!" Mina smile before she collapsed to her knees, feeling a little too drained of both blood and energy. The last thing she saw as she closed her eyes was the swish of robes... ...and woke up in the hospital wing bed next to Marin's own bed, surrounding by the golden aura of Sanger's healing powers. "D...did I win?" She asked clumsily. Marin nodded. "Yep. Melissa had actually dissapeared, however...I'm not sure what happened, but her body just...whisked away out of nowhere."